After a lengthy hearing which ended shortly after midnight last Thursday, the city’s Ethics Review Commission dismissed a complaint against former Interim City Manager Jesús Garza. A motion aimed at dismissing the complaint failed, as did a motion to move forward to a final hearing. As a result, the complaint was dismissed. Adam Materne, the […]
Jesús Garza
Posted inAustin
A look back: Austin’s year in review
With 2023 drawing to a close, it’s time to look back on the local headlines that dominated the news before looking forward to the year ahead. Happy News Year! New city management This year saw a strange kind of sea change at City Hall led by newly reelected Mayor Kirk Watson. On the one hand, […]
Posted inCity Hall
Austin interim city manager appoints head of police oversight without promised national search
Austin has named interim Director Gail McCant to run the Office of Police Oversight – one of the highest-profile offices in the city. And it has done so without public notice. Created in 2018, the office oversees police policy, conduct and discipline. Essentially, the department is tasked with holding police accountable. Farah Muscadin, who started […]
Posted inCity Hall
Garza announces more changes at City Hall
A new memo outlines yet another shake-up at the city courtesy of interim City Manager Jesús Garza. City Council reappointed Garza interim city manager in February, following a vote that fired City Manager Spencer Cronk from the position. Since then, he has introduced a series of changes to the organizational structure of City Hall. The […]
Posted inBudget
Garza pauses changes for Civil Rights, Equity offices until after budget passage
The controversial plan to reorganize the offices of Civil Rights and Equity and two others is being put on hold and will be evaluated after City Council concludes its work to finalize and approve next year’s budget. At Tuesday’s budget work session, interim City Manager Jesús Garza said criticism from community groups and objections to […]
Posted inBudget
Equity Action slams budget proposal as ‘throwback to the ’90s’
Some community advocates are decrying interim City Manager Jesús Garza’s budget proposal as a “throwback to the ’90s.” Garza released his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24 in July. The $5.5 billion budget represents what Garza calls a “Back to Basics” approach to city government that focuses on core city services and reorganizes the city’s […]
Posted inCity Hall
Garza explains motivations behind proposed changes to Equity, Civil Rights offices
At Wednesday’s budget work session, interim City Manager Jesús Garza offered some of his rationale behind the proposed reorganization of four city offices, a change that has drawn criticism from community groups involved in equality and racial justice. During the session, City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes asked Garza to explain his reasoning behind the changes, […]